Founding member of Cuban exile flight group dies

MIAMI — A founding member of the Cuban exile group that piloted planes over the Florida Straits in the 1990s in search of rafters fleeing Cuba has died.

The Miami Herald reports Brothers to the Rescue's Maggie Schuss died of lung cancer Monday at a Miami hospital.

Brothers also dropped antigovernment leaflets over Cuba until its military shot down two of its planes in 1996, killing four members. Cuba said the planes had invaded the island's airspace. Brothers to the Rescue maintained they were over international waters.

Schuss was married to Brothers co-founder William Schuss and worked as a legal secretary. She served as a spokeswoman for the group and dropped leaflets during some flights.

A mass is scheduled for Friday at St. Peter's and Paul Church in Miami.